Sweet Summer
by kings-never-die
Summary: Stella Feder did not expect the first day of summer to be so eventful, but the fates sure proved her wrong. Not that she's complaining, of course. Braden/OC
1. Chapter 1

The first thing Stella noticed when she woke up was the noise. Granted, this house was always noisy in the mornings (considering the people who lived there) but this was a bit much. When her family had decided to move from Hollywood to Stanton, Connecticut where her dad grew up she had been both happy and sad, as was only natural. Sad because she was leaving all her friends and social life behind. Happy because she might finally get to experience what a quiet morning is like. In L.A. cars were driving past her house 24/7 and there was never a quiet moment. On several occasions she had almost burst into tears because all she wanted was to sleep in late on a weekend for once in her life. Not even here, in this suburban neighborhood, did that seem possible.

Giving up on the thought of sleep she reluctantly got out of bed and out of her bedroom reluctantly. The house was absolutely amazing, and she had to give credit to her parents for finding it.

Half asleep Stella moved into the bathroom down the hall. For some reason the shower was still on and there were wet tracks on the floor, but there was no one in there. Shrugging, she went on with her daily routine. She brushed her black hair and put on her make up. It mostly consisted of products that framed her eyes. She absolutely detested wearing stuff on her lips for some reason. It made her feel uncomfortable.

Now that Stella was a bit more awake she noticed what the house actually looked like. Wandering through her home she saw that it looked like a warzone. Not just upstairs, but downstairs as well. When she stepped out on the front porch she saw why.

Joining her family (and the mailman for some reason) she watched a deer with her mom's bra on its antler tear apart her little sister's stuffed monkey.

"Was that thing in our house?" she asked when nobody acknowledged her. They all nodded silently. "So that's what you were all screaming about," she concluded. "Listen, if you don't mind moving a bit to the side, I need to get to work."

Her dad looked at her. "Oh no, no, no, you're not going anywhere until that monster is gone from the lawn, missy."

"But dad, I'll be late for the opening shift."

"I don't care. I don't want you to suffer the same fate as Mr Gigglesworth. Who knows what that guy will eat if he gets the chance. Come on let's all get some breakfast, okay?"

They all had breakfast around the table and it was the usual routine: everyone was talking over each other, trying to get their voices heard. Stella had to hand it to her mom for being able to listen to all of her four children at the same time and answer them individually. Her dad on the other hand simply tried to keep up. It was fun and all, but when Stella imagined her future this wasn't what it looked like. Having a lot of siblings was nice, but she didn't want so many kids. Maybe one or two at the most. Soon Stella looked up at the clock and saw that too much time had passed.

"Alright, now I _really_ have to go."

Lenny gave her a kiss on the cheek as she passed by him. "Alright, you have a great day, sweetie."

"Have a great last day at school. Bye everyone!" she cried from the door, making sure to close it so no more animals could come in. Lenny had been very clear about that as a new standard house rule.

Becky came running after her when she was halfway down the driveway. "Stella, wait! Don't forget my ballet today. It starts at eleven o'clock."

"Of course I won't forget, my precious little princess," Stella picked her up and tried to spin her around, but much to Becky's disappointment she could only manage half a spin before she had to put her down. "You're getting too big for me to do that. I thought dad told you to stop growing?" she teased.

She giggled when she was down on the ground again. "Can I go home with you today?"

"No, sweetie. I couldn't get the day off. I'm coming to your ballet on my lunch break, but then I got to work for a few more hours." Her little sister pouted. "But I'll see you after work, after I pick up the boys from school. And when I come home, I'll try to fix Mr Gigglesworth, okay?" Stella tried to cheer her up. Thankfully it worked and her little sister nodded enthusiastically.

"Have fun at work today!" She skipped back into the house.

Normally Stella would have enjoyed working in the bookstore. It was nice and quiet and she could read anything she wanted when she was on a break or there weren't too many customers. But some things just ruined her day completely. Like the fact that this is where all the college kids came to by their books. Some of them were cool, but some were total assholes. Like the ones who just walked through the door.

It was that guy Randy or Andy or whatever his name was. Apparently he was the leader of the frat boys and he thought that entitled him to everything he pointed to. Including her. He always flirted with her whenever they saw each other and no matter how many times Stella said no, he just wouldn't get the point.

The three other guys disappeared behind the bookshelves, but he focused on her.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said as he walked up to the counter, more swagger to his steps than was possibly natural. "Where were you last night? We missed you at the party."

Stella enjoyed going to a few parties now and then like so many other teenagers. Most of which her parents didn't know about, and there was no way she was going to tell them anytime soon. These were her rebellious years and she was going to enjoy them as much as possible. That meant going to a couple of parties. It was just too bad the greatest parties were hosted by the college kids, more specifically the frat boys.

She closed her book with a thud. "It's none of your business where I was, Andy. Now, are you going to buy a book or not?"

"Whoa, chill." He held up his hands as a sign of peace. "No need to snap. I'll buy a book, if you go out with me."

Stella frowned. "Is that how you ask all girls out? By bargaining with them?"

"It's how I ask _you_ out," he said with a smile that was supposed to be charming, but ended up being plain slimy. Did he really think it was a serious question? How the hell did he get into college in the first place?

She took a breath to calm herself down. "Look, Andy, I've told you this a million times, but I'll say it again: I don't like you and I will never go out with you so stop asking!" She spoke slowly to make sure he got every word of it.

For a moment he looked crestfallen, but she felt no pity for him. That ship had sailed a long time ago.

"Fine, whatever," he brushed it off, trying not to look like his ego had taken a hit. "Come on, guys. Let's hit the quarry," he called out to his friends. They emerged from behind the shelves and left with him, none of them buying a single book. Did he seriously bring his friend along to the bookstore without anyone needing to buy anything just to have an excuse to ask her out?

She almost ran to the isle they had been hiding in to see what damage had been done this time. At first she saw nothing and she breathed a sigh of relief. No spit on the floor, no marks on the shelves and all the books were even still in order. It was too good to be true. She began to check the books too just to make sure. After the fifth one she stopped when she saw a dick drawn on the cover.

"Aw, come on! Very funny guys!" she shouted after them even though they were long gone.

Whatever. Looking at the clock she saw that she only had twenty minutes until Becky's recital.

"Mrs Nolan, I'm going out for lunch now," she called to the back of the shop where the owner of the store had her office.

"Okay, be back on time," came the answer from the middle-aged woman.

"I will."

She got into her Audi S6 and drove off. She loved her car, but she had been close to losing it when she told her dad that she wouldn't go to college. Both Lenny and Roxanne had been disappointed when they heard the news, but she managed to make a strong case for herself. She told them honestly that she didn't want to spend a fortune on getting an education that would most likely mean nothing out in the real world, considering the job market for young people today, whether you had a degree or not. It had taken a while, but they finally gave in. She'll admit that she squeezed out a few tears to make it happen, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Thankfully they also agreed to let her keep her college fond, as long as she used it for something useful and nothing but, like when she would buy her own place or if she one day decided that she actually wanted to go to college. She happily agreed to those terms.

Becky's recital had been interesting to watch to say the least. Though she had her own solo- in which she was great- most of the focus of the males in the audience was on the dancing teacher. The Russian beauty was almost as curvy as her mother.

It was over soon and she applauded her little sister, but had to leave quickly to get back to the store on time. She only had an hour left of work, but that was no reason to be late.

"Hey, hey, Stella," Lenny said before she could leave. "I talked to the guys earlier and we decided we should throw a little party tonight. Just to celebrate the first day of summer, you know."

Wow, short notice. "When you say little do you mean just-our-families-little or high-school-little where everybody invites everybody?"

"Well, you know your old man. A real summer-celebration party with less than a hundred people ain't a real party."

Stella laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, I need to go. I'll see you later."

"Okay, pumpkin, you take care."

That last hour went by faster than expected and she hopped right back into the car again and drove towards the school to pick up her brother Greg and their friend Andre.


	2. Chapter 2

Stella pulled her car up outside the school. Many parents were already there picking up their kids, so she was lucky to get a parking spot so close to the entrance. From where she stood she could see the midriff of a kid standing close to her car, probably waiting for his ride. She couldn't resist leaning over to the passenger seat to get a better look at him.

The only word you needed to describe him was _big_. He was at least six feet tall with a wide chest and shoulders. She could see the muscles bulging on his arms because his red flannel shirt had its sleeves ripped off. They were covered in tattoos and his hair blond hung down to his shoulders. The thug look suited him well, complete with baggy jeans and worn out combat boots. Unfortunately she couldn't see his face completely because his hair was in the way and she was too low to see it in a proper angle.

She only had so long to ogle him before Greg and Andre came towards her. She waved at them, but they did see her. For some reason they started talking to the boy she had been staring at. Since when do those two make friends with scary people? When all three of them walked in the other direction she got out of the car and called out to them.

"Hey guys, I'm over here. Where are you going?"

They turned around, looking surprised to see her. Greg replied, "Oh, hey. We totally forgot you were picking us up."

That was all the explanation they offered her. They fell silent and looked a little lost. Greg and Andre stood in the middle of them, Stella waiting for them to come to her or at least say something else, and the big guy waiting a few steps away, looking a bit bored and impatient.

"Where you going anywhere? Do you need me to drive you?" she asked. It's not like she had anything else to do. She'd promised Becky she would help with the monkey, but her little sister could hopefully wait a bit longer. Right now Stella just wanted to get to know the new guy a bit better.

"Well," Andre said hesitantly, "We were going to hang out with Braden. He suggested we do something we're not supposed to." It was such a un-Andre thing to say, he had to be quoting the guy- Braden.

A thought hit her. "Well, I might now something that would fit that description."

"You got something in mind?" Braden asked, coming closer.

Stella immediately decided that she liked his voice very much. "Maybe. How about an introduction first?" she asked slyly. "I'm Stella Feder, Greg's sister."

Had there not been a car between them she would have offered her hand. He had now walked past the guys and leaned against the roof above the door on the other side. This close up she could see that his eyes were blue, and he sported some facial hair that didn't look too bad at all.

"I'm Braden Higgins."

Her thoughts froze and she didn't move for about ten seconds before his words had settled in her brain. Had she really heard him correctly?

He was still staring at her when she came out of her thoughts. "Did you say Higgins? As in Marcus Higgins?"

"Yeah, that's my dad," he said casually, as if it wasn't a big deal. But this was a huge deal! Although she couldn't really be surprised at the fact that Higgins had a kid, considering how much he slept around. The surprising part was that this muscle mountain had come from that tiny little man. The only likeness they had was the color of hair and eyes. How the hell didn't she know about this?! She looked at her brother and friend for an explanation, but they just shook their head. She didn't even understand what they were trying to tell her with that. "So, whatcha have in mind?"

She shook her head a bit to come back to her senses. "Uh, yeah, there's this really cool place where you can swim about a twenty minute drive from here. You're not really supposed to go there but everyone does anyway. You'd probably like it." She hoped he would. He looked like a rule-breaker.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "You know this place better than I do." Without another word he got in to the passenger seat and shut the door.

She looked over to the others. "You guys coming or what?"

They hesitated. "Are you sure about this, Stella? I mean, you saw the guy, right? And you heard his last name?" Andre asked.

"Hey, you're the ones who talked to him first. I assumed you wanted him to be your friend. Might be good to have in case of bullies next year." They still wouldn't move. "Don't screw this up for me, guys," she hissed, hoping he wouldn't hear her. "Either come with us or stay, but don't just stand there like total losers. If you don't make up your minds now I'm telling mom who really broke her favorite vase, and that I just took the blame because I was feeling nice."

That got Greg moving and he pulled Andre along with him. They jumped in to the backseat and Stella sped off to the old quarry. The ride was mostly silent. She actually wanted to talk to Braden, but she got a feeling he wouldn't want to open up to much while the others were right there behind them. Luckily they soon reached their destination. She parked the car about fifty yards away behind some high bushes where it wouldn't be seen by the college kids. The reason the quarry had popped into her mind earlier was because she remembered Andy talking about going there. Where he and his crew were there was bound to be a party going. Stella didn't want to make it too obvious that she really wanted to be alone with Braden, so she chose a spot where she knew there would be people- otherwise she would have left the younger boys there to walk home.

They walked up to the rusty fence. Braden pointed to the signs. ""Keep out". That just make you want to not keep out." He crawled under the fence and Stella was right behind him.

It was about a five minute walk to the cliffs through the forest. Andre took the lead. Stella was about to walked next to Braden when Greg took hold of her arm and held her back. The others walked ahead.

"What did you mean back there by "not screwing this up for you"?" he asked.

Stella raised her eye brows and looked meaningfully at Braden's back. "You really can't figure it out? If you had an opportunity to hang out with Nancy Arbuckle- even though two other people were there too- wouldn't you take it?"

He followed her eyes and looked back and forth between his older sister and the blond giant. She could see a light go off in his head when he caught her meaning. "No. No, you can't be serious, Stella! Did you see the guy? Did you hear his last name?"

"I saw him and I heard. I just don't care. It probably won't lead to anything, but it's nice to have something nice to look at for once. Why should you be allowed to stare at Nancy all day long, but I'm not allowed to have a little eye candy?" Instead of waiting for his answer she jogged up to Braden and fell in to his steps. Though she was a bit taller than average he had longer legs than her and she had to make an effort to keep up with him. She smiled at him when they were next to each other. He didn't return the gesture, but looked more like he was unsure how to respond.

"I heard our dads used to come swimming here back in the day," Andre said as they approached the cliff. "They claim to be all squeaky clean, but I think they were nuts."

Stella heard the music playing long before she saw the people occupying the place. Someone had brought a boom box to the otherwise peaceful place. Though the music wasn't bad, Stella was not in the mood to party with college youths who got drunk before three o'clock on a weekday. She wished they had gone somewhere not so crowded, where the people around where a little less annoying.

"College kids," Greg stated the obvious. "We better go."

Braden slapped his hand on Greg's chest to stop him right there. He spoke in his deep voice, "No go. Stay."

He spoke like a caveman, but there was something about him- most likely his delighted smile- that made Stella forget that she would rather be somewhere else.

"Yeah, maybe we should stay, guys," she agreed. She was about to say something more, but she forgot what it was the second Braden removed his shirt. _Ohmygodohmygodohmygod _was all that went through her head. She thought she would faint when his pants came off too. He was built like she didn't know what, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from him as he dove into the water. Not a second later she was taking off her clothes as well.

"Whoa, Stella, what are you doing?" Greg asked. Both he and Andre were looking the other way, looking a bit uncomfortable at being in the presence of their sister and longtime friend who was currently in her underwear.

"What? I want to swim." She stepped right up to the edge. It was a really high jump and it made her stomach tingle. She had the urge to jump, as you do when standing before a great height, but she hesitated for a few seconds. Andre and Greg were trying to convince her not to do it, while Braden shouted from the bottom to join him. She thought about, and realized she would rather be celebrating the first day of summer down there with a hot guy than go home and sit quietly in her room.

She jumped with a squeal. Her stomach dropped and the wind went through her hair. The impact of the water hurt a bit, but passed very quickly. The sense of being under water calmed her racing heart a bit, and she went up to the surface to be greeted by a grinning Braden on one of those floating mattresses and sunglasses on his face.

He laughed for the first time since she'd met him… which was like half an hour ago, but still. He gave her a thumbs up. "Summertime."

"Dude, that was such a rush!" She swam closer. "Where'd you get that stuff?"

He pointed his thumb at the kids on the other side of the rock. "Took it from some guy," was all he offered as an explanation.

Stella never thought she'd laugh at someone admitting to a technical crime, but here she was, doing exactly that. She felt a bit silly, giggling like a schoolgirl with her first crush, but for some reason she couldn't help herself.

"Any room for me on that thing?" Instead of answering, Braden lifted her up like she weighted nothing and made her straddle his waist. "What are you doing?" she asked in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"I don't really feel like moving, and the view is much better like this, don't you think? I know I'm much more comfortable."

She giggled again and felt her cheeks warm up. "Stop that. You're making me blush."

He took off the stolen glasses and threw them in the water, neither caring much that they would soon be lost on the bottom. "Well, you look cute when you blush. So no, I don't think I'll stop."

Stella thought he looked better without the dark glasses. Now she could see his eyes. Again, she could feel her face turning red at the thought that they were sitting there in their underwear. She had promised herself that when she met a boy she liked she would act levelheaded and play it cool, but that plan just went out the window. Without thinking she leaned forward and put her lips on his.

It was meant to just be a short peck, a heat of the moment sort of thing. She would have brushed it off as some spontaneous thing caused by the adrenaline from the jump, if she hadn't felt Braden's hand on the back of her head holding her in place.

Surprise made her freeze for a moment, before finally she moved her lips in sync with his. The kiss quickly went from innocent to steaming hot when she felt his tongue asking for entrance, which she happily gave. He was a bit of a sloppy kisser, and it seemed he couldn't really figure out how to control his tongue. Not that she minded, of course: it was very nice. Stella put her hands on his muscular chest back pushed him backwards to lay them down. Unfortunately she forgot the small detail that they were currently on a floating mattress in a lake. With their combined weight the mattress was already barely staying on the surface, but when she gave him the small push, which he didn't resist at all, it gave away. They landed in the water and both of them swallowed a mouthful out of shock before they came up again coughing.

They treaded water. Braden flipped his hair from his face and said, "Well, that was fun."

Stella did the same. "Not bad for someone who's never kissed anyone before, huh?"

Braden's eyes got wider and he halted his movements, but not so much that he drowned. "Wait, that was your first kiss?"

Stella was hesitant to answer him. She wasn't really ashamed to never have been kissed at the age of nineteen: it wasn't that uncommon. But Braden had no doubt kissed a lot of girls before, and might mock her for it or worse: not want anything to do with someone as unexperienced as her. Some guys were weird like that.

"Uhm, yeah, yeah it was. If you're not cool with that- I mean, if you didn't like it, we don't have to…"

"No, no, it was fine," he was quick to interrupt her. "It was actually pretty great."

"Really?"

"Really. Actually, it was my-" he stopped himself.

She swam a little closer and put her hands on his shoulders. "Your what?"

By the look in his eyes, Stella couldn't determine whether he was going to answer her or kiss her again. Either one would have been fine with her. But before he could do anything, a scream and a splash from the other side of the lake made them look away from each other and see what was going on. Stella was not prepared for what she saw.

Never in her life had she expected to see her father's friends and himself jumping naked from Suicide 35. Never had she expected to just a minute before that to be making out with one of said friend's son. Speaking of Braden, when she turned around to shield her eyes from the terrible sight, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Braden?" she called out.

He emerged from under water near the cliffs and started climbing up. She hurried to follow him. He climbed up to the top, put his clothes on in a hurry and walked the same way they'd come from. Stella did the same, forgetting Greg and Andre were still with the college kids. Her clothes clung to her wet skin and she didn't have time to put her shoes on, so she carried them in her hand.

"Hey, wait up." He didn't- just kept on walking. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know," he replied. He was clenching his fists and breathing hard. She could sense he was on the verge of exploding. She needed to calm him down.

She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. "What are you so angry about?"

He took a few breaths. His eyes were fixed on a tree branch of to the right. He looked absolutely furious. "My dad said he was gonna work at the soup kitchen today. He lied."

Marcus Higgins had never set foot in a soup kitchen in his entire life, but she wasn't going to tell him that. Of course Braden felt angry. He had never met his father so he couldn't know what a lying little weasel he was. This was going to give Braden trust issues with Marcus, which he probably already had. What little boy didn't want to meet their daddy? Now that Braden had, he discovered that his dad would rather fool around with his friends than spend time with his own son. His mind must be overflowing with disappointment and self-doubt.

It made Stella angry too, and she was going to give Marcus a lecture he would never forget later. But not right now. She knew Braden could squash him like a bug, so she needed to calm him down before he did something he would regret when he was imprisoned for it.

"Look, I get you're angry, I really do. I'm angry too. What Marcus did was wrong, but we're not going after him right now." She raised her voice when he was about to interrupt. "Those douchebags just made ours dads and their friends do the 35 feet jump naked. You need to take your anger out at something, and you want to do stuff we're not allowed to do. What do you say we get revenge?"

He finally looked at her when she finished talking. They stood there for what felt like several minutes, just staring at each other, while he was making up his mind. Stella realized her hand was still on his arm, but couldn't bring herself to let it go.

"Whatcha have in mind?" he asked eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

"What the hell are you doing?!" Stella exclaimed when she got closer. She had been gone for one minute to get the car, and when she came back Braden had slashed the vans' tires and put a headless teddy bear on the antenna. He still had the switchblade in his hand. "You know what, I don't want to know. Let's just go before our parents get here. Get in the car."

He did as she commanded without protesting after putting his bag pack in the backseat. The car ride was silent for about five minutes before Stella broke it with her question.

"You said you surname was Higgins, right? How can that be when you've never met him before and you parents aren't married?"

He shrugged. "It's the name mom gave me. Guess she wanted as little to do with me as possible." He was trying to act nonchalant, but it was clear that he was hurt by his mother's action. Stella couldn't believe it. What kind of mother does something like that? She wasn't really sure how to react, though. It was clear he wasn't the sort of person who wanted anyone to pity him, so she changed the subject instead.

"How old are you?" she asked from lack of being able to think of something better to talk about.

"Nineteen."

This surprised her. "You're kidding? Me too. But how come you're still a junior in high school? Or technically a senior now, I guess."

Once again he shrugged. "I had to repeat a year or two. I'm not stupid or anything, if that's what you think. I just skipped a lot of classes."

"I don't think you're stupid, so there's no need to get defensive. I get it, man." God knew she had skipped a few classes when she was in school as well.

The rest of the ride was silent. She thought he would relax if she got him to open up a bit, but he only seemed more tense, fidgeting with his hands and moving around in his seat. He probably wasn't used to talking about… well, anything really. Or he just wasn't used to people listening. She stopped the car outside a supermarket.

He turned to her. "What are we doing here? I thought we were gonna get payback?"

"We are, in a minute," she reassured him. "We just need to pick some stuff up first."

He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. Stella stopped him before he could exit the car. She wanted to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. She couldn't just sit here holding him back. Instead of trying to think of something clever, she listen to her body and kissed him again. This time he met her halfway.

This kiss was softer than the last one. It said everything they couldn't express with words. She told him she was sorry for what he had been through and that she was there for him, and he gladly accepted it. The only thing that touched was their lips, but it still felt incredibly intimate. When they came up for air they were both dizzy.

"Whoa."

"Whoa indeed," he agreed with a smirk. "Hey, you wanna, maybe, do something sometime?"

It sounded so vague, but her heart still fluttered involuntarily. "What, like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date," he nodded. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I want to!" she relied, perhaps a bit too quick. "I'd really like to go on a date with you, Braden."

By the huge grin on his face you could never have guessed how upset he was only twenty minutes earlier. "Awesome."

It would have been great to go back to kissing, but they suddenly remembered what they came here for. They did a quick round in the store, picking up loads of toilet paper and spray cans. The lady in the register looked at them knowingly, but they ignored her. Stella drove them to the frat house.

"Let's give this place a makeover."

He grinned at her evilly. They got out of the car and got to work.

Braden gave himself the task to decorate the building with toilet paper. They made it in to a game, to see who could throw the highest and the furthest. Braden won in the end. They continued to spray paint and trash the place until it looked like a junkyard. Stella never thought she'd have this much fun vandalizing a frat house. She made the mistake to look at her watch and realized time had passed quicker than she wished it would.

Then she remembered something. "Crap! I was supposed to help Becky with her monkey!" Braden looked at her like she was crazy, which she probably sounded like considering he had no idea what she was talking about. "Look, this has been really fun, but I gotta go. I promised my sister I would help her. Do you want me to drop you off somewhere?"

He picked up another spray can. "Nah, I'm not done here yet." They had been laughing a lot of the time until now, but Braden had yet to take out his anger at something. She guessed that's what he was planning to do once she was gone.

"Okay." She started to get back to her car, but thought of something. "My parents are having a party tonight, sort of to celebrate first day of summer. Your dad's invited, so maybe I'll see you there?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe you will," he said in a voice which meant she was definitely going to see him.

Afraid to say something embarrassing, she just smiled at him and got into her car.

She rushed home, which was a little unnecessary since no one was there but the dog. She sighed in relief. When she was with Braden she completely forgot about the time, so she'd hoped Becky wouldn't be too disappointed about her being late. But Becky wasn't there, so it gave her some extra time.

That stuffed monkey was as good as doomed. No matter how hard she tried there was no way she could fit all the pieces back together. When she gave up after the most frustrating hour of her life, it looked more like Frankenstein's monster than somebody's beloved childhood companion. Stella put her head on the kitchen counter with a groan. She only looked up when Bowser came sniffing about, seeing what she was up to.

Since no one was home and she had nothing better to be. She changed into her sportswear and took Bowser out for a jog. When she came back again the rest of the family was just walking through the front door. That's when she saw Keithie was walking on crutches.

"Oh my God. Keith, what happened?"

Before he could answer their mom said venomously, "Ask your father."

"It was an accident!" he exclaimed, going in after her to the house.

When they were gone Stella asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Like dad said: it was an accident." He really meant it. She loved her little brother for being such an understanding person. He struggled a bit with the crutches, but managed to sit down on the couch.

Stella went upstairs to take an extremely long, cold shower. With the summer heat and her work out she was sweating like a pig. When she came down again food was on the table and everyone seemed to have calmed down enough to be civilized.

Lenny was the first to speak. "Okay, everybody. It wasn't a perfect day, I admit it. There were some downs- sorry about the leg," he said to Keithie. "The good news is the children got through another year of school, fabulously. Stella's working hard, earning her own money. We're proud of you, honey. They got older, even though I told you not to," he pointed to Becky, "Especially you. Stay young. Don't leave me. I've already lost your sister to old age." Stella didn't know whether that was offensive or funny. Lenny continued and said to his wife, "You've prepared us your famous chicken a la food poisoning, which we're all excited to eat," he laughed when she threw a pea at him. "I'm just kidding. But the greatest thing is it's my favorite part of the day with my five best friends. To the Feders!"

He raised his glass and everybody cheered before they finally began to eat. Stella didn't feel it before, but she had been starving, and so she eat heartily while her family chatted around her. The only one who wasn't eating was Greg. Lenny noticed this too.

"Homeboy, why aren't you eating?"

"I saw something today that made me lose my appetite." Stella immediately dropped her fork, food halfway to her mouth. She would have to thank Greg later from bringing that image back to her mind, just when she had forgotten about that traumatic sight.

Lenny looked at them both quizzically. "What was it, me naked?" Both brother and sister looked horrified at the memory. "What?" he asked. Both refused to answer him and went back to poking their meals.

Soon the conversation turned to how everybody's day had been. Lenny proceeded to tell them about something Eric Lamonsoff had come up with.

"Burpsnart?" Roxanne asked. She didn't look like she really wanted to know.

"A burpsnart!" Lenny exclaimed, as if that was all they needed to know. He explained the process of such thing and Stella wished he hadn't brought it up in the first place.

"Dad, that's disgusting."

"What are you talking about? You've never been squeamish before in your life," he said truly surprised.

She replied, "That's true, but even I have my limits and it looks like you've just found it."

Thankfully Roxanne changed the subject quickly. The new subject was their big summer party tonight.

"I thought it would be fun to have a theme, no?" she suggested. "I was thinking the 80's."

"The 80's?" Keithie sounded like it was a mad idea.

Stella thought the opposite. "That sounds great, mom! I love dressing up." Roxanne smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm.

"Ass-kisser," Greg mumbled into his glass.

Keith took her side and teased him right back. "Why don't you ask Nancy Arbuckle to come by for the get together? Or do you prefer the imaginary shower version?" he laughed.

Instead of arguing anymore, Greg grabbed his brother's legs with the cast and dropped it on the table, making him shout out in pain.

The rest of the dinner passed without much of a fuss. When it was over most of the family went to the supermarket to pick up stuff for the party. The three eldest ones stayed behind.

Stella was standing in front of her closet, which was bursting at the seams with all her clothes, trying to find something fit for the 80's when it knocked on her door.

"Come in," she called. Greg walked in to her room. "Hey, little brother. Need any help with picking out a costume?"

Instead of answering her he said, "What was that you did earlier?"

He looked upset. "What do you mean?"

"When we were at the quarry, and you suddenly took off with Braden without telling us. We had to walk home. Do you have any idea how hot it was outside? Andre and I do, because we had to walk all the way home in that heat!"

"Alright, calm down! I'm sorry. I just forgot, okay?"

"No, it's not okay." He sat down on her bed. "Why did you leave anyway? You were acting so weird when he was with us."

Stella put down the clothes she had in her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe I wasn't acting weird. Maybe I was acting just like I usually do when I'm not at home or around family. Maybe I have fun with Braden in a way I can't with you guys because all of you still see me as the little girl with braces on her teeth and wore tutus to school. And maybe, just maybe, it's none of your damn business what I do with him."

He had gone from looking angry at her to looking slightly shameful. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

She sighed and sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "I know, bobo, but that's not your job. I'm the older one, remember? I can take care of myself. I like this guy and even if it turns out to be a mistake, it's my mistake to make, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly. They sat there for a while, just enjoying the company of their sibling, before he spoke. "Do you still want to help me with my costume before I go to work?"

She smiled at him. "Sure. Let's go see what you got in the back of your closet, other than ugly Christmas sweaters and things you've outgrown but you refuse to throw away."


	4. Chapter 4

Stella was just putting out some drinks in the backyard when people started to arrive. Or actually, her dad's closest friends and their families started to arrive, so she couldn't really count them as party-goers, because she knew they would come long before the party started anyway.

She was delighted when she saw Braden walking towards her. "Hey, you came." She looked over his outfit. She couldn't really say who he was supposed to be, but the clothes looked good on him. Not as good as his ripped flannel that showed off his chest, but still. "Nice hair, dude."

He chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, it's not really my style, but it's fun for one night."

She remembered something her dad had said earlier at dinner. "Hey, did you get arrested for the frat house thing after I left?"

"Oh yeah, cops showed up like ten minutes after you'd gone. It okay though, they didn't catch me in the act and they dropped me off at my dad's house." He shrugged like it was nothing. She didn't doubt he had been imprisoned before.

"So how'd it go with your dad?"

He leaned one hand against the table and out the other in his back pocket. "It was fine. We talked about some stuff and got some pizza. He's actually pretty cool."

"I'm glad you feel better about it." She was about to take his hand, but remembered that there were people around them. "I should go change, now that everything is done. You can just hang out here until I get back. But I don't mean that like you have to hang out with me when I get back; you can do whatever you want. And you don't have to stay here- I just meant it's probably best if you stay in the garden because this is where the party will take place once people get here. But you don't have to stay here unless you want to. I think I'm gonna go inside now." True to her word she practically ran inside.

What the hell was that?! She had been rambling for no good reason without taking a single breath. She hadn't even been talking about anything important. Something about Braden Higgins made her so damn nervous for no reason that she couldn't even act like a normal human being.

She quickly changed into her costume and came back out again. There she found Bean and Becky occupying Braden, making him spin them around in circles, all of them looking like they were having the time of their lives. He looked up when he heard her laughing, and dropped the kids when he saw her. She winced a bit, hoping they were okay. They got up after only a second and ran off in the other direction, so they must have been.

Braden got closer, looking her over. "Wow, you look really good."

She blushed at his words and tried to hide it behind her dark brown hair. "You really think so?" She looked down at her Daisy Duke outfit.

"Yeah, totally." The way he looked at her made her get butterflies in her stomach.

Stella hadn't been so sure when she picked this outfit, but now she was very happy she had. Not only because Braden obviously liked it, but also for the way it made her feel when she wore it. Stella liked to dress similar to her mother: a tiny bit bolder than was appropriate for everyday situations. She had her mother's built and curves (thankfully) and she liked to show them off. Not because she was fishing for compliments or looking for attention, but because it made her feel sexy and confident.

She was now wearing high heels and very short jeans shorts. Her shirt was flannel with one too many buttons undone and the ends were tied around her stomach. To be honest, she had partly chosen this outfit to get the reaction from Braden that she was getting right now. He was staring at her shamelessly, and she didn't mind at all.

Their little moment was interrupted when a raft of all things flew out of Lamonsoff's fanny pack and struck all the guys around him to the ground. He then proceeded to jump up on a small table, which fell when it couldn't bare his weight. When they were all done laughing about it Lenny noticed her and Braden watching them.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it right there, young lady." He jogged up to her. "What happened to the rest of your clothes? Did the dog eat them or something?"

She looked down on her outfit. It looked fine to her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not seriously gonna wear that, are you? I mean, there's going to be people around. Don't you think it's a little revealing?"

"No, I think it's just fine." She turned to Braden. "What do you think?" She brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up at her face. He just shook his head at her question, not wanting to get involved in an argument between father and daughter.

"See, that's exactly what I want to avoid," Lenny pointed at Braden. "I don't want guys staring at you like you're a piece of meat. It's disrespectful."

This confused her. "Shouldn't you be telling those guys not to stare at me instead of telling me how to dress?"

His shoulders slouched and he sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're technically right, but I still think you're a bit young to be wearing that. So I'm telling you now to go change."

She crossed her arms over her chest, now getting seriously pissed off. "Or what, dad? Are you gonna send me to my room?" As soon as she said the words a brilliant idea came into her head. As long as her dad acted the way she knew he would.

"That's exactly what I'm gonna do! You march up there right now, young lady, and you don't come down again until you're wearing something decent!"

Bingo. She huffed like she was upset. "Fine!" She stomped towards the house, saying stuff under her breath like she was cursing him. When she came to the door she looked back. Lenny had gone back to his friends, but Braden still watched her. She motioned for him to follow her. When he came inside, she took his hand and led him up the stairs, looking out for any other family members.

"Where are we going?" he whispered.

She led him into her bedroom and closed the door behind them. "Dad doesn't want me at the party unless I change, but I don't really feel like changing, so I thought we could have a party of our own." As soon as the words left her mouth the gleam of mischief in her eyes was replaced by doubt. Maybe he would think she was silly.

His warm chuckle reassured her that was not his opinion. "I think that's a great idea. I'd rather be up here with you than down in a sea of people I don't know."

She let out the breath she'd been holding.

"What kind of party did you have in mind?" he asked. She saw that he was glancing at her bed out of the corner of his eye. Though she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it, that activity might be taking it a step too far, considering they'd met about six hours ago.

"Um, not that kind of party," she pointed to the bed.

He looked around her room. "That's cool. I was just checking."

Stella was happy that he actually meant it. There was no malice in his voice and he was respectful to her wishes. _Not the kind of guy you meet every day_, she mused. _Not the kind of guy you'd expect him to be_, she mused happily.

"So what do you want to do?"

She threw her arms in the air. "I don't know. I hadn't gotten that far in my planning when I brought you up here. I just didn't want to change and I didn't want to be alone." She walked up to the window and looked down on the back yard. The first drove of people had arrived. "I guess it was kind of unfair to drag you up here without a plan. You can go back down if you want."

"Nah." He sat down on her bed and stared flipping through the sketchbook she'd left on the pillow earlier. "I like hanging out with you." He looked at a few of her drawings. "Did you make all of these?"

She sat down next to him and saw he was looking at her sketches of evening gowns. "Yeah. My mom's a fashion designer, so she helps me out when I feel like drawing clothes."

He fell into silence as he flipped through the book. Stella fought the urge to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Can I fix your hair?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Your hair is really bothering me. I mean, your normal hair is great, but this style is not the best one, for you or anyone else. No offence."

He chuckled. "None taken, I'm not entirely happy about it either. Do what you want, as long as I don't have to move."

"Deal." She leaped off the bed and fetched a hairbrush. She spent the next ten minutes brushing the gel out of his hair. Honestly, it had only taken five minutes to finish, but the other half was just for fun. She found that she loved to run the brush through his soft, blond locks. He didn't seem to mind it either. When she was done she threw the brush to the armchair at the other side of the room.

"There, now you look like yourself again."

She was about to say something more, but totally forgot what it was when he turned around and kissed her. She gladly gave in and moved her lips against his. She put her arms around his neck and lied down on the bed, pulling him on top of her.

"I thought this wasn't that kind of party," he mumbled between kisses.

"We don't have to go all the way, we can just stay like this."

And they did. They spent the next hour or so making out on her bed, and every once in a while they took a breathing pause, during which they got to know each other better. Stella told him about how she felt slightly judged by her family for being the only own who didn't want to go to college, and she found out about his secret dream of becoming a fireman. Imagining him in one of those uniforms made her all hot and bothered again, which led to another round of making out and exploring hands.

They were taking a break, sitting face to face with their legs crossed on her bed, when someone knocked on her door and it opened.

"Hey sweetie, how're you… What the hell is he doing here?" her father looked at them perplexed.

Stella silently thanked God he had chosen this moment to check in on her, and not two minutes earlier.

"We're just talking, dad. Braden was nice enough to keep me company up here so I wouldn't get bored." He looked suspicious. "We've _just_ been talking," she reassured him slowly, making sure he heard her correctly.

"Do I have your word on that?"

"Yes, you have my word on that." She didn't think of it as lying to her father. More like protecting him from a truth he wasn't ready to hear.

"Alright," he didn't sound entirely convinced. "I just put your sister to bed. Thought I should come in here and tell you I had a little talk with your mother. She agrees with you that I over reacted, so now I'm here apologizing and inviting you back down to join the party. The band just got here."

Good old mom- Stella could always count on her. It was hilarious how afraid dad was of her.

"Okay, thanks dad. We'll be right down."

"Right," he nodded, slowly walking out of her room. He quickly popped his head in again about five seconds later.

"Dad, I said we'll be there."

"I know, just checking." He left for real this time.

She giggled at his slightly overprotective behavior. Any other boy would be tense in a situation like this, but Braden looked totally relaxed. Probably because he didn't care what anyone thought of him, but she appreciated that he hadn't given her dad a heart attack by telling him the truth.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," she grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bed.

In the doorway he stopped her. "Wait, I gotta tell you something. I was just about to, but your dad walked in." She waited for him to continue. "Earlier by the quarry, when you said it was your first kiss," he swallowed a lump, "It was my first kiss too."

He'd whispered the last part, but she'd heard him.

"What? Are you serious?" She refused to believe him. "How is that even possible?" There was no way in hell someone as hot as him had never been kissed.

He looked at the floor. "Guess anyone I've wanted to kiss has been too scared of me."

She doubted that was the only reason. Sure, he was scary when he was angry, but her time with him now had proved he could be very sweet when he wanted to. It probably had something to do with his self-esteem, which she had figured out was pretty low. Every time he found someone to kiss that little voice in his head must have made him question why anyone would want someone like him, and it became a classic situation of _Hurt them before they hurt me_.

All thoughts of not showing him any pity went out the window. Stella wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and hug him tight and tell him everything was going to be okay. But instead she cupped his cheek and kissed him. "Come on. I want you to dance with me."


	5. Chapter 5

The music was blasting form the stage and Stella was having a great time. Braden had dragged her all the way right up to the front of the stage and they very dancing like there was no tomorrow. There was something liberating about acting like a fool on the dance floor, like no one was there watching her. What made it all better was Braden by her side. This was definitely the most fun she'd ever had at a party.

Suddenly the music stopped abruptly. The reason for it was Greg accidently disconnecting the speakers. But instead of getting a crowd of angry party goers at him, everybody's attention was directed to Charlotte, who was too much in the zone to realize the music was gone. She was amazing! Stella had never heard her sing before, but she wished the younger girl would do it more often. Everybody cheered for her and then the party continued.

It was the heat of the moment, and she and Braden were dancing a little too close one should with their parents at the same party, but at that time neither of them cared.

"Hey, what's your dad doing?" Braden asked. With his height he could easily see over the crowd, but Stella wasn't quite so lucky. She could only see his red cap moving around.

Though she didn't want to stop dancing, she wanted to know what was gathering a crowd. "Let's go check it out."

They got closer and Stella saw her dad getting ready to apparently fight Tommy Cavanaugh, which was stupid since there was no way in hell he'd win. But she could see what he was trying to do. He was showing Keithie how to stand up against your bully, and she had to give him credit for that.

They circled each other longer than necessary. Right when Lenny was about to punch him, Cavanaugh crouched down and begged for mercy. Okay… nobody was expecting that to happen. Nobody actually believed it when he proceeded to threaten Cavanaugh, but it was fun to watch, and everybody cheered for him when they were done.

People were ready to get back to the party, but hardly five minutes had passed before the next big event happened.

A hooting noise brought her and Braden's attention from each other and to the top of the hill, where an army of frat boys and their horde appeared out of nowhere. _What the hell is this?_, she wondered.

None other than Andy stepped forward and spoke to the crowd. "I can't believe it. We've hit the moron jackpot. Everybody who needs a beating conveniently together on one lawn."

Her mother addressed them. "Excuse me, why are you here? What's the matter?" Stella would very much like to know that as well.

"I tell you what is the matter," some blond wannabe surfer dude mocked Roxanne's accent. "These old townies trashed our frat house," he pointed to Lenny and his friends. "And nobody treats our good- times headquarters with disrespect."

Ooh, that's what they were mad about. Stella didn't regret what she'd done and she doubted Braden did either, but she didn't want someone else to take the blame for her actions. She took a step forward and Braden followed her, holding her hand. "They did do it. We did it," she said with pride in her voice. Her parents looked at her with a mixture of surprise and admiration. Surprise mostly from her mom and admiration from her dad.

"Don't try to cover for them, baby!" Andy shouted down to her. It took every ounce of willpower in her body and a very tight grip on each other's hands to make sure neither her nor Braden pounced on the guy right this very second and beat him to a bloody pulp.

"We know they're trying to get back at us for making them do the naked plunge in our swimming hole!"

"_Your_ swimming hole? I've been swimming at the quarry since I was eight years old," Deanne said.

"Apparently everybody in the crap town has been swimming there since they were eight years old," Andy complained. "I guess nobody want to leave this town because they're too busy sucking!" Apparently that was a very clever thing to say, because everyone behind him cheered.

A guy dressed as Tom Cruise in Top Gun- the guy who worked at the ice cream shop- spoke up. "Hey, smart guy! Lenny Feder left this town, moved to Hollywood, made big bucks- probably more money than you brainiacs put together ever will. But guess what: he came back here, cause this beautiful town is his home. And it always will be his home."

It was actually quite a beautiful speech from someone who'd never given any indication to like Lenny in the first place. Stella had to say she was proud of her dad for making such an impact on the people of this town. Even the ones who didn't like him had to admit they admired him somewhere deep down.

It seemed the frat guys didn't feel the same way. "Well, that was just a moving testament to this community, bro! But we didn't come here to hear any lame speeches. We came here to kick some old, smelly ass!"

Wow, this was the most ridiculous thing she'd witnessed in all her life. And considering the people in her life she'd seen some pretty ridiculous things. But this topped the cake.

Her dad and his friends spoke up, seemingly having had enough of these frat boys. "Fellas, we may be old."

"We may be smelly."

"We may have a penis." _What the hell, Deanne?_

"But the only ones getting their ass kicked around here is gonna be you spoiled, privileged, uppity, preppy d-bags." Erik said just the right words.

"You hear that? _NOW, LET'S GET BUSY_!" Kurt shouted, giving everyone the battle cry they needed.

Every person on both sides of the lawn rushed forward to meet in the middle. It became chaos in no time. In the madness of the rush she lost sight of Braden, but didn't have time to think about it as someone came at her with their fists raised. This continued for she didn't know how long. Every time Stella managed to knock someone to the ground, someone else took their place. She was hit a numerous times- thankfully not on her face. Some girl thought it was a good idea to pull Stella's hair, so she got back at the bitch with a knee to her stomach.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump around, ready to punch whoever it was. Braden caught her fist before it reached his face.

"You doin' alright?" he asked.

The big smile on her face should have been answer enough. "I'm doing great! This is the best party dad's ever had!"

He laughed. Stella thought he would say something more, but he grabbed her face and kissed her. It was a little strange kissing in the middle of a battle field, but Greg and Nancy were doing it so what the hell. They were both high on adrenaline anyway. However, they were interrupted by some guy trying to sneak up on them. Braden spotted him over her shoulder and let go of her to knock him out. Stella wasn't too happy to admit it, but it looked really hot when he punched someone.

The music kept playing and the people kept fighting. What stopped everyone was the sight of a deer running by, attacking Andy who held Mr. Gigglesworth by his crotch. Seeing their leader defeated made all the college kids sound the retreat. Just as suddenly as they'd arrived, they were gone again.

With everyone focused on celebrating their victory, nobody noticed Braden and Stella sneaking off around the corner of the house. They wanted to celebrate the victory alone, in their own way. As they stood there, lips locked in a kiss, Stella couldn't help but think how awesome this summer had started out, and she could only hope it would continue on the same path.

_This is going to be the sweetest summer ever._


End file.
